The Unbroken Covenant
by unicorn-skydancer08
Summary: Loyalty is a rare gemstone, and no one in all of Middle-Earth possesses the loyalty to match the kind Sam possesses for Frodo.
1. Part 1

**The Unbroken Covenant**

_One of my fans kept begging me to do a Lord of the Rings piece, and after thinking it over for a bit, I decided it was worth a try. I do love Lord of the Rings, after all. _

_Interestingly enough, I used to avoid LOTR like the plague for the longest time. Then, about two years ago, I slowly became interested, and ultimately I was persuaded to watch the first movie (and the extended edition, at that) all the way through, just to see what I thought of it. To my own great amazement, I loved it! I actually lasted till the very end, and when it was over, I was left deeply satisfied. Now I'm almost as big a fan of LOTR as I am of Narnia! I don't know if I'll ever read the books (I might, but I'm not confirming anything), but the movies are out of this world! The visual effects and the music and everything just blew me out of the water, and Elijah Wood and Sean Astin are now on my list of top ten favorite celebrities. _

_And, of course, I was convinced to watch the other two movies as well after that! _

_As this is my first LOTR piece, I'd appreciate it if you took it easy on me. Tolkien's world is an extremely complicated one, with so many plots and names and places to keep in mind. _

_I'm starting out small and simple for this, and I'll do my best to keep the facts straight. Wish me luck! _

**

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Characters © J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson**

**Story © unicorn-skydancer08**

_**All rights reserved. **_

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Part 1**

They always said loyalty was a gemstone, and one that was not very easily found in the world. And, as far as anyone knew, no one had the loyalty that quite compared to Sam's loyalty for Frodo. Sam, otherwise known as Samwise Gamgee, was really just a humble Hobbit, who served as Frodo Baggins' gardener—having inherited the position a number of years before from his father, who also served as gardener for Bag End. But Sam would ultimately prove to be more than just Frodo's gardener, and servant.

Fate was always full of unexpected surprises. And, just as fate would have it, the One Ring—a simple yet malevolently powerful ring of pure gold, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron—wound up in Frodo's possession. That One Ring retained dark powers beyond all mortal comprehension; some folk claimed it contained the very essence of Lord Sauron himself.

According to legend, Sauron had created the One Ring during the Second Age, in order to gain dominion over the free people of Middle-Earth. He did it deep within the core of Mount Doom, a volcanic mountain that was alive with constant fire. The Ring was made after the manner of the Rings of Power: three Rings were bestowed upon the Elves, who were immortal by nature, and the fairest and the most intelligent of all earthly beings; seven Rings were bequeathed to the Dwarves, who were creatures of the earth, and specialized in soil and stone; and nine Rings were granted to Men, who were mortal and the weakest and most pathetic of all creatures, hungering and thirsting incessantly for power.

Sauron intended this One Ring to be the most powerful of all the Rings, to be able to control those who wore the others.

He was compelled to pour much of his inborn power into the One in order to achieve his evil purposes.

The One proved to be Sauron's greatest achievement, and his greatest folly at the same time. On one hand, so long as he had the One, he was the most dominant and prevailing figure in all of Middle-Earth, and the Ring preserved his immortality in addition to his strength. In other words, as long as the Ring was safe, Sauron could never die. But on the other hand, by sealing his power within the Ring, the Dark Lord became greatly dependent on it—without it, his power would diminish exceedingly. And while he would not truly die, he would no longer be considered among the living, either. He would be beyond life, beyond a ghost…beyond even the lowest and the meanest of spirits.

This ring bore no jewel or special stone of any kind; it was really quite plain in its design. Most would take it for any ordinary ring. But a person could determine the One Ring's identity, by heating it. When placed in fire, a blazing Tengwar inscription would emerge into view, within the heart of the gold, written in the Black Speech of Mordor:_  
_

_One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,  
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. _

These were the words to a wicked spell that imbued the One Ring with all its power.

It fell upon Frodo to destroy that ring, before it fell into the wrong hands. The only way the Ring could be truly destroyed was in the flaming depths of Mount Doom, where it had been born in the beginning. It was a long, perilous journey, fraught with countless dangers, the greatest danger being the Nine Riders—otherwise known as the Black Riders, the Ring-wraiths, or simply the Nazgûl. Once the Nine Men who accepted the Nine Rings from Sauron, and succumbed entirely to the Dark Lord's power, they now dwelled forever in perpetual shadow, and death and destruction followed them wherever they went. Never sleeping, never eating, neither completely dead nor fully alive, they spent all their time hunting down the bearer of the One Ring, and they would stop at nothing until they had fulfilled their grim task, and obtained the Ring for their master.

At first Frodo was intended to take on this dangerous, life-threatening quest alone, but Sam ended up tagging along, partly because the Great Wizard Gandalf had caught Sam eavesdropping on him and Frodo when the two were discussing the potential evils of the Ring. At Sam's own request, Gandalf appointed the Hobbit as Frodo's traveling companion, and guardian.

Sam undertook this responsibility in all seriousness. He had always been considered Frodo's friend, but this journey would prove to put the Hobbits' friendship to the test.

On the beginning of their expedition, Sam had a temporary scare when he lost track of Frodo in the middle of a thick, ripe cornfield. Frantic, he began pawing his way through the dense rows of vegetables, crying out, "Mr. Frodo? Frodo! _Frodo!_" And just as he was on the verge of completely panicking, Frodo met with him on a path in the field, completely unharmed.

Seeing that Frodo was all right, Sam dared to breathe freely again. When Frodo questioned Sam about his seemingly unnecessary concern, Sam's answer was, "It's just something Gandalf said."

"What did he say?" Frodo queried.

"'Don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to."

Frodo just smiled at his dear friend, and replied heartily, "Sam, we're still in the Shire!" ("The Shire" was the name of the Hobbits' native land; it was where both Frodo and Sam had been born, and spent their entire lives.) "What could possibly happen?" Had Frodo known in advance, however, the very perils that lay in store for them, he would not have spoken so casually.


	2. Part 2

**The Unbroken Covenant**

_This next part is my most favorite scene from "The Fellowship of the Ring". It gets to me just about every time I watch it, so naturally I had to tell it in my own style. I'll do my best to not state the obvious to you guys throughout the remainder of this story; that last chapter served as a bit of a prologue, if you'd like to call it that. _

_For this, I am highlighting what I determine to be the most significant moments between Sam and Frodo. But I'll try to not be redundant. _

**

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Characters © J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson**

**Story © unicorn-skydancer08**

_**All rights reserved. **_

**

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Part 2**

Sam tore through the woods of Amon Hen at his utmost speed, desperate to find Frodo before anything happened. "Frodo!" he shouted over and over, as dried leaves and twigs crunched and snapped underfoot, as he pushed low branches out of his way. In his heart, the Hobbit prayed fervently that Frodo was safe, that he would be able to catch up with him in time.

Boromir was already dead, and Pippin and Merry had been taken prisoner by the Orcs. What became of Aragorn and the others was anybody's guess.

If no one else, Sam was determined to find Frodo, and make sure _he_ was safe.

When Sam reached the water, the waters of the Great River Anduin, he could see a single boat heading for the eastern shore—with Frodo inside it!

"Frodo, no!" Sam cried out, racing frantically to the edge of the beach, where the land met the water. "Frodo!" he called again after his master, his voice loud enough to carry to the other side, and with every bit of his heart in it. "Mr. Frodo!"

Frodo simply kept rowing onward, as though he hadn't heard, and he never looked back once. But Sam could have sworn he heard him murmur sadly, "No, Sam."

Seeing there was no other option, aside from turning around and walking away (which, in this case, was out of the question), Sam resolutely waded out into the water after Frodo. The water was as cold as ice, and it made Sam's muscles seize up, but he kept going. Hearing the splashing, Frodo stopped and glanced briefly over his shoulder.

Upon seeing Sam, he hollered out, "Go back, Sam! I'm going to Mordor alone!"

"Of course, you are," Sam shouted back, as he waded further. "And I'm going with you!"

"You can't swim!" Frodo warned.

But Sam pressed on, and it wasn't long before the floor of the river disappeared altogether from beneath his feet, and he was compelled to swim for it.

Just as Frodo had stated, Sam was not a very good swimmer; for that matter, he couldn't even float, and he promptly began to sink. Though he flailed the water with his arms and legs, giving it everything he had within him, he just couldn't make it.

"Sam!" Frodo cried urgently, seeing that his friend was on the verge of really drowning.

Sam barely had time to hold his breath, before the water closed completely over his head, and the unfortunate Hobbit vanished from Frodo's sight. A fair amount of bubbles and ripples followed his submersion. "SAM!" Frodo now wailed at the top of his voice, as he leaned out anxiously over the edge of the boat.

Under the surface, it was eerily silent, clear as crystal, and deathly cold. The water enclosed Sam on every side.

Even then, Sam continued to strive to reach the surface, but the more he fought, the farther he sank.

His lungs screamed for air. Strange colors began flashing before his eyes. More than anything else in the world, he yearned to breathe. He_ needed_ to breathe! The poor Hobbit practically clawed through the water, but his efforts proved to be futile. Somehow, the surface world always remained beyond his reach.

Sam could not go on anymore. He let the last bit of breath left in him go in a spume of bubbles.

This was how it would end for him, he knew in the back of his mind. He was going to die, here and now, and the river would serve as his grave.

There was nothing more he could do, nothing left for him…and he therefore ceased to struggle, and gave himself up for lost.

Yet just as he was on the verge of sinking into total oblivion, something plunged into the water and grabbed Sam by the wrist. Without really thinking about it, Sam closed his own fingers around the thing—which proved to be Frodo's hand. No sooner had Frodo felt Sam's grip than he pulled him up, using every ounce of his strength.

Though Sam was bigger and considerably heavier than he was, Frodo managed to haul him to the surface.

The very second his head broke through the water, Sam drew in a long, gasping breath of precious air, and launched into a hysteria of violent coughing and retching. Frodo dragged the sopping wet Hobbit into the boat with him, and there Sam lay by Frodo's knees for a time, breathing in the sweet, life-giving air.

When he had recovered himself, and could breathe properly again, Sam struggled to a sitting position so that he and Frodo were facing one another directly. Frodo couldn't be sure, but he somehow sensed that the water pouring down Sam's face and dripping abundantly off his chin was not merely river water. Sam's heart spilled over with emotion as he said to his young master in a thick voice, "I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise! 'Don't you leave him, Samwise Gamgee.'"

He paused only a second before adding on softly, "And I don't mean to…I don't mean to."

And as Frodo's eyes entangled with Sam's, and Frodo saw all the love and friendship, and the pure devotion in those swimming brown depths, something inside of him melted.

"Oh, Sam," was all Frodo could bring himself to say, before he reached out for his beloved companion and engulfed him in a tight hug, tears streaming shamelessly down his face. Sam readily returned Frodo's impassioned embrace, sniffling, burying his head in Frodo's shoulder.

The two Hobbits clung to one another like that for a time—whether for a minute, or for an hour, or for an eternity, neither of them knew. But when they finally relinquished their grip in the end, and Sam found himself gazing into Frodo's tear-streaked face once again, Frodo rested his hands gently on both his shoulders, and told him in a quiet, somewhat calmer voice, "Come on."

And so Sam readily took up his oar, and the two thus proceeded to make their way towards the eastern shore, together.


End file.
